Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix
by Haveaniceday
Summary: It's Harry's 5th year at Hogwarts and many things are changed- he's got new home, a new crush, new friends and new enemies. What will happen when Harry must defeat Voldemort or forever lose what he treasures most- his friends? H/H, R/L, Gin/Colin, etc
1. The Good News

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story, though I really wish I did.  
  
Author's note: this is my first fanfic so please R&R! Thanks!  
  
The Good News  
  
Harry Potter sighed as he stared out his window. This summer at his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon Dursley's house had been just as boring as all that had gone before. The only thing that kept 15-year-old Harry from dying of dullness was the memory of the fact that he would be spending the whole month of August with his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, at Hermione's house.  
  
Usually the end-of-the-summer visits took place at the Weasley's humble abode, but this year Mr. and Mrs. Granger had insisted that they wanted to host the kids, saying that the Weasleys had been only too kind the past few years, and it was their own turn. Harry sighed again, wishing he had a place to invite his friends to. He had a sneaking suspicion, however, that even if the Dursleys would allow him to have guests, which was highly unlikely, that the trio of friends would have more fun at a month-long janitor's training camp.  
  
Harry drifted off into dreams of his best friends, but especially Hermione. Ever since she had kissed him good-bye at the end of last year, she had been in his thought more than anyone else, and he was beginning to think that his crush on Cho Chang could be considered over.  
  
He kept remembering Hermione's dancing chocolate-coloured eyes and perfect smile, improved by the fact that, not only were her parents dentists, but she had finally been able to shrink her over-large front teeth after Malfoy had attacked her the previous year. Her hair, tawny-brown, that was starting to become less frizzy and more the kind of wavy hair that girls like Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown wanted. Hermione constantly invaded Harry's thoughts now.  
  
Harry's thoughts were broken by a loud screech as Hedwig, his snowy-white owl, flew into the open window. It was a good thing the Dursleys were out buying Dudley new (un-needed) toys, because a noise that loud would have caused bad-tempered Vernon Dursley to fly into a rage and insist that Hedwig be locked up for the rest of the summer.  
  
Harry untied the envelope from Hedwig's leg, hoping that it was from Hermione. As he opened the parchment envelope, a newspaper clipping and a small note fell out. Harry read the note first.  
  
Dear Harry,  
I thought this newspaper clipping might excite you. you might want to think about subscribing to the Daily Prophet so Ron and I don't have to send you every article that pertains to you.  
I wish I had time to write a longer letter, but since I don't, I'll just say ' I miss you and can't wait to see you later this summer.'  
  
Loads of Love,  
Hermione  
  
Harry's heart skipped a beat. Loads of Love? How could a newspaper article be more interesting than Hermione? He quickly picked it up off the floor and read the headline. SIRIUS BLACK FOUND INNOCENT! It shouted. Of course Harry had already known that, but the rest of the world. Harry read the rest of the article.  
  
Sirius Black, thought to be a murderer, has been found innocent. Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has testified in a court of law that the man believed to have been responsible for killing Peter Pettigrew and twelve others, is indeed innocent. As proof, Professor Dumbledore retrieved a paper bearing the signatures of James and Lily Potter, stating that their secret-keeper was indeed Peter Pettigrew and not Sirius Black. Upon closer examination of the finger of Peter Pettigrew that was found on the street where he was supposedly murdered, officials have declared that the finger was cut off and not hexed.  
  
A note, written by Pettigrew to Mr. Remus Lupin in their fifth year, was also found. It stated that Peter had decided to become a rat for the illegal Animagus transformation that he, James Potter, and Black were to complete later the following year. This along with a photograph of "Scabbers," a rat now known to have been Pettigrew, formerly belonging to Arthur Weasley, head of the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, resolved the case in the favor of Black. He will to be set free from all charges formerly given to him and paid the amount of 1,000,000 galleons to make up for the years he has already spent in Azkaban.  
"We are unspeakably sorry for the damage we have done to this innocent man's life," an official said in a press conference yesterday evening. "We know that we can not completely make up for what we have done, but we hope to make some kind of repayment."  
A grinning Black was also interviewed, and when asked what he planned to do now that he is free, he stated that he would take custody of his godson, Harry Potter, as soon as he could find a place to live. The best of luck to Black in his new life.  
  
Harry trembled with excitement. He was going to go and live with Sirius? He was thrilled with enthusiasm.  
  
Harry jumped at a sudden knock at the door. He wondered if he should open it, thinking the Dursleys might be angry if he did. But then he comprehended the fact that he wouldn't be living with the Dursleys much longer, so with a grin on his face, Harry Potter went to the front hall and flung the door of number four, privet drive, wide open. 


	2. Sirius

Sirius  
  
As soon as Harry caught sight of who was outside the door, he committed a rare act and threw his arms around the familiar figure in a tight hug. Sirius Black's appearance was much different from the last time Harry had seen him. Now clean and freshly clothed, it was obvious that his diet no longer consisted of rats and garbage. "Sirius! I just heard. Hermione sent me the article. can I really come and live with you?" Harry squeaked enthusiastically. Sirius laughed at the eagerness in Harry's voice. "Of course! I always told you that you could. In fact, I was hoping that you would be able to begin moving in today. I'll just clear it with your uncle and aunt, collect up your things, and we can be on our way." he nodded his head at a car parked in the driveway, a shiny new convertible. "The Dursleys aren't home, but I could go pack," Harry suggested, and the two of them trooped up the stairs, chatting happily. "I think you'll like the house I bought," Sirius said as he helped Harry stuff textbooks into his trunk. "It's got three bedrooms, so we can have guests. Ron and Hermione, maybe? Oh, and speaking of Ron and the house, I think both he and you will be happy to find that it's in Ottery St. Catchpole, a very short distance from the Weasley's. You'll be able to visit each other every day." Harry grinned, stuffing his last pair of socks into the trunk and snapping it shut. Sirius was looking out the window. "I think your uncle and aunt are home," he said. "Lets go talk to them." "HARRY!" his aunt Petunia yelled up the stairs. "I need you to come carry Dudder's new toys up to his room!" Sirius grimaced. "Do they always treat you like a slave?" Harry nodded and clomped down the stairs. "There's someone I want you to meet," he said to his relatives. Aunt Petunia turned white. Uncle Vernon turned purple. "Do you mean to say that there is some one here, IN THIS HOUSE, that we DO NOT KNOW?!?" He pointed a large finger at Harry's face. "There had better not be anybody in this house, young man, or I will lock you up in your room for the rest of the summer!" "I won't be here for the rest of the summer," Harry said coolly. "I'll be at Hermione's." "Not if you have invited SOMEONE ELSE into our house." Uncle Vernon had now turned an unpleasant shade of maroon, with a few brown splotches. Just then Sirius came down the stairs. "Are you having trouble, Harry?" He turned toward raging Uncle Vernon, white-faced Aunt Petunia, and Dudley, who was having a bit of a difficult time hiding all of his fat behind his mother's bony body. "I am Sirius Black, Harry's godfather. I have come to take him to live with me." Aunt Petunia gasped, and there was a mini earthquake as Dudley fainted. Harry would not have been surprised if smoke had started pouring out of Uncle Vernon's ears. "Go then!" Vernon bellowed. "Get out of my sight!!" Sirius picked up Harry's trunk and hauled it out to his car. Harry went and got in the front seat, and as the two of them drove off, Harry looked out the rear window just in time to see Uncle Vernon roar, "And good riddance!" Harry laughed. 


	3. Harry's New Home

Harry's New Home  
  
The drive was quite pleasant. Sirius told Harry all about the trial, Harry told Sirius about his new feelings for Hermione, and how excited he was to get to spend the rest of the summer with her and Ron.  
  
"We're meeting on Diagon Alley on my birthday," Harry told Sirius. "We plan to stay for a couple of nights at The Leaky Cauldron, then go to Hermione's house for the rest of August."  
  
Sirius laughed. "I won't have you for very long, will I? Oh well, you'll be with your friends. And I'll come see you off at the Hogwarts Express when you leave."  
  
Just then a small town came into sight. "That's Ottery St. Catchpole," Sirius informed Harry. Ottery was a typical looking town, with a church steeple pointing dramatically into the sky. There was a main street, with a few small shops and restaurants. The rest of the town was quaint little houses with window boxes and shuttered windows. Sirius drove down the heart of the town until he came to the very farthest edge, where he pulled up the driveway of a one-story home much like the others, with a front garden and picket fence. It was creamish-yellow with a light blue door, shutters, window boxes, and trim.  
  
As Harry got out of the car, he thought he had died of happiness. He was living with his godfather, whose name was finally cleared, had a home of his own, and was pretty sure that the strangely-shaped shadow on top of the hill over there was his best friend's house.  
  
Harry and Sirius hauled Harry's trunk into the front hall of their new home, which was filled to the brim with boxes overflowing with ordinary household items, newly bought. Sirius looked around and clicked his tongue. "We can't have this, now can we, Harry?" And with that he raised his wand and pointed it in the direction of the multitudes of cartons. "Expelio!" Harry was forced to duck as possessions began shooting out of the boxes at lightning speeds. Within a few seconds, everything was unpacked and with of a wave of Sirius' wand, the boxes disappeared. "Come on, Harry, I'll show you to your bedroom."  
  
Sirius led the way down the hall and into a room with all new furnishings. There were a few Quidditch posters hanging on the wall, and the bedspread actually had moving animations of Harry's favourite team, the Chudley Cannons. Sirius cleared his throat. "I picked out a few. erm, decorations I though you might like. If you don't like them we can go shopping and get you some different things."  
  
Harry wrapped his godfather in a big hug. "They're perfect, Sirius. You couldn't have gotten anything better."  
  
Sirius grinned. "Well, I'll leave you so you can arrange things however you want them. If you need anything, I'll be down in my room, which is right at the end of the hall. Your bathroom is right across the hall, and the kitchen and living room are, as I suspect you already saw, down at the other end of the house. So settle in, and maybe later we can pay a call to Ron. he'll sure be surprised, won't he?"  
  
Now it was Harry's turn to grin. "Yeah. And Sirius?" Sirius, who had turned to walk out the door, stopped and looked over his shoulder at Harry.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Giving me a home, letting me live with you. besides when I was with my parents, I've never had a real home besides Hogwarts before, and that doesn't really count, does it?"  
  
Sirius ruffled Harry's already unruly dark hair affectionately. "No, it really doesn't. But you're welcome." Harry wouldn't have been the least bit flabbergasted if his heart had suddenly burst open with all of the contentment swarming within it. 


	4. Visiting Ron

Visiting Ron  
  
As soon as Harry and Sirius were both unpacked, Sirius made a very welcome suggestion. "Do you want to go visit Ron, Harry? I don't think his family will mind very much if we drop in."  
  
Harry nodded quickly. He couldn't wait to meet up with the Weasleys again. Not just Ron, but everyone else as well. Mrs. Weasley had always been, in Harry's mind, the perfect picture of what a mother should be. Caring and kind, though not soft enough to overlook a punishment where she felt one should be given. Mr. Weasley, always enthusiastic to learn about anything that had to do with muggles- though Harry hoped that he himself wouldn't have much to do with them anymore. Fred and George, always up to their fun pranks and jokes. As for Ginny, Harry hoped that this year she'd be over her crush on him, he was a bit sick of have her turn red whenver she did when he spoke to her. And last but not least. well, maybe least, Percy. Harry wasn't really lokking forward to seeing Percy. But nevertheless Harry couldn't wait to see his favorite wizarding family again.  
  
He and Sirius began the short walk to the Burrow, the Weasley's home, talking along the way. When they got to the front yard, which had a few chickens clucking around and a few dwarves running rampant, Harry walked up to the door. Before he even had the chance to knock, though, it was thrown open and Ron flew out, and grin wide across his freckled face.  
  
''Harry ! How did you get here ? Have you gone to live with Siri.'' his voice trailed off as he noticed Sirius standing a few feet behind Harry. ''Hey Sirius ! I'm so glad about the trial and everything ! How did you guys get here ?''  
  
Harry returned the grin. ''We walked.''  
  
Ron looked confused. ''Walked ? How far ?''  
  
''About a hundred yards. That house's ours, right there.'' Harry pointed out the house that he and Sirius had just moved into.  
  
Ron grinned even wider. ''Incredible ! I can see you every day ! We can just walk to each others houses and stuff !''  
  
Just then Mrs. Weasley scurried out of the house and enveloped Harry in a large hug. ''Harry, dear, I'm so happy for you ! You always could have stayed here, but we couldn't have given you a permanent home. Now you're just a little ways away !'' She turned to Sirius and shook his hand. ''Mr. Black, I hope that we shall get to be close neighbors while the boys are at school.''  
  
''I certainly hope so too, Mrs. Weasley. And by the way, please call me Sirius.''   
  
''Then you must call my Molly." She and Sirius continued their conversation while Ron grinned at Harry and said, "Come on, I'm sure Fred and George will be glad to see you. Ginny too. By the way, I think you'll be glad to find out that Ginny no longer has a crush on you."  
  
Harry pretended to be distressed. "Why? What have I done to deserve this? Who has stolen her love from me?" He let out a very fake sob.  
  
"As a matter of fact," Ron said, "It was Colin."  
  
A look of amazement came over Harry's face. "Really? Colin Creevey?" he laughed. "When? How?"  
  
"The end of last year. It appears that they spent the train ride home talking and just as it reached the station, they both admitted that they liked each other. They've been writing letters back and forth all summer. Mum thinks it's sweet that her only darling daughter has a boyfriend."  
  
At just that moment, Ginny came skipping out of the house, a smile on her lips. "Hi, Harry!" She said. "How's your summer been so far?"  
  
"Probably not as good as yours. I've just finished hearing about Colin, but I want to hear all the private details from you," Harry said jokingly.  
  
Ginny's ears turned bright red, like Ron's did when he was embarrassed. "I bet Ron's told you everything already. We just talked a bunch on the train, and I sort of figured out that I liked him, and then he told me he liked me and I said I liked him too. that's all, really." She beamed at Harry. "He's my first boyfriend."  
  
"You're ahead of me, then," Harry confessed. "I've never had a girlfriend in my life."  
  
"Really? You, Harry? I would have thought that you would've had loads of girlfriends already, being who you are and everything." She giggled, but not girlishly. It was almost like she and Harry were friends with an inside joke.  
  
She seems different Harry thought. Maybe she and I will be friends this year.just maybe.  
  
All of a sudden there was a huge bang in the kitchen. Ron, Ginny, and Harry hurried in to find Fred and George guffawing on the floor. They looked up to see their siblings and Harry staring at them and Fred spoke up. "We're in the process of inventing a caramel pudding that causes the eater to do summersaults and cartwheels," he explained.  
  
"By the way, Harry," George cut in. "That money is really helping out with our. er, research."  
  
Harry snickered. "Glad it's being used. Have you done the other thing I asked you to do with the money?" Harry wanted to make sure that the twins remembered that they had promised to get Ron some new dress robes with the money from the Triwizard Tournament that Harry had given them the year before.  
  
Fred raised his eyebrows. "Not yet, but we're planning to soon."  
  
Harry smiled. "Good."  
  
Ron interrupted. "Who's up for a game of Quidditch?" he asked. Harry, Fred, and George all volunteered to join him in their favorite game. Ginny even agreed to come along and act as referee.  
  
"I've been practicing quite a bit this summer," Ron told Harry as they trudged up the hill that led to the meadow where the Weasley boys had set up a makeshift Quidditch pitch. "I'm hoping to try out for keeper, since Wood's gone now."  
  
"That's a great idea!" Harry agreed, thinking about how much fun it would be to have one of his best friends on the team with him.  
  
When they got to the field, Harry, Fred, and George took turns shooting on Ron, who turned out to be a very good keeper.  
  
After a few hours of fun, Mrs. Weasley called the boys in, and Harry and Sirius shared dinner with their new neighbors before heading back to their new home. As Harry said goodnight to Sirius, crawled into his new bed, and turned out the light, he felt not only the contentment from earlier, but also excitement. He couldn't wait for the next day. 


	5. Diagon Alley and Hermione

Author's note: sorry for the delay in update, but I've been very busy lately, and as now I'm home sick with laryngitis, I thought it would be a good time to update. Enjoy chapter 5!  
  
Diagon Alley and Hermione The two following weeks were very nearly paradise for Harry. With a new home, his godfather cleared, and his best friend within walking distance, there were only two things that worried him- 1) That Voldemort would soon attack, and 2) That Hermione would fall in love with Viktor Krum when she went to visit him. Besides that, though, Harry was quite happy.  
  
On his birthday, the day that he and Ron were to meet Hermione on Diagon Alley, Harry finished packing his suitcase for when he went to Hermione's and he and Sirius strolled up to Ron's house to fetch the Weasley's and then be on their way. As soon as Harry walked into the Burrow, he was surprised to see Ginny and Colin sitting next to each other on the couch and holding hands. As soon as they noticed Harry, they jumped apart and both began blushing furiously. Harry just grinned.  
  
"Hullo, Ginny, Colin," he said nonchalantly, as though he hadn't just seen what had been going on. "Is Ron up in his room?"  
  
Ginny nodded, still bright red, and Harry bounded up the stairs. Halfway up the stairs, however, he ran smack into Ron.  
  
"Oh, hey, Harry. I was just going to go down to your house, but I guess there's no point since you're here. I've just finished packing for Hermione's. Are you all ready to go?"  
  
"Yeah," Harry said. "Sirius and I brought some floo powder." Harry and Ron both cracked up at the memory of Harry's first time using that method of transportation, which had taken place the summer before their second year. The two best friends headed downstairs, where Sirius, Colin, and the rest of the Weasleys were waiting by the fire-place.  
  
"Hurry now, dears, we don't want to be late to meet Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said. "Arthur, why don't you go first?"  
  
Mr. Weasley stepped forward, took a bit of floo powder, stepped into the fireplace, said, "Diagon Alley," and disappeared. Harry watched as one by one, the group followed the steps, and tried in vain to keep his nervousness down. He was so anxious to see Hermione again, but also scared that he would say the wrong thing or make the wrong move. Finally it was his turn to take a handful of floo powder and step into the fireplace.  
  
"Diagon Alley!"  
  
Harry felt the now-familiar sensation and was extremely relieved when he flew out of the fireplace at Flourish and Blotts, the wizarding equivalent of Barnes & Noble. He stood up, brushed himself off, and went out of the store to meet the rest of his group just as Sirius flew out of the fireplace, followed quickly by Mrs. Weasley. The group then made their way to Gringotts Bank and withdrew the necessary money for their shopping. Harry was quite pleased to see that the Weasley's vault was much fuller than it had been in recent years, and wondered if Sirius had had anything to do with that.  
  
After money was passed out, the adults decided to pop into the Leaky Cauldron for a drink while the kids began their shopping. Fred and George quickly found their best friend Lee Jordan, Ginny and Colin meandered off hand in hand, and Harry and Ron set off to try and find Hermione.  
  
They had been walking for only a few minutes when Harry and Ron both spotted Hermione, who was walking with Lavender Brown. Harry's heart began to pump faster. He had forgotten just how beautiful Hermione was, and today she looked even better, with the bright (however unusual) London sun making her hair gleam and her eyes sparkle.  
  
Beside him, Ron was standing stalk still. "Wow," he exclaimed admiringly. "Someone sure got a lot prettier since I saw her last!"  
  
Harry was still staring at Hermione as though in a trance. "Yeah," he said. "You're telling me! In all those years of being best friends with her, I never really noticed how pretty she was."  
  
Ron stared at Harry, looking a bit confused. "Since when have you been best friends with Lavender?"  
  
Harry snapped out of his trance. "Lavender? I thought you were talking about Hermione!"  
  
They both laughed until they heard a girl's voice yell, "Hey, Ron! Hi Harry!" Lavender was now waving to them, though Hermione was no longer at her side. Harry was having a hard time figuring out where she could be until something hit him hard from the front. He looked down to see Hermione standing with her arms around her neck and he returned the hug.  
  
"Happy birthday, Harry!" She kissed him on the cheek and he thought he would fly away if she weren't holding him down. He grinned giddily down at her. "Hey, 'Mione."  
  
Ron and Lavender laughed, either at Hermione's actions or the look on Harry's face. Lavender imitated Hermione and ran towards Ron, knocking into him full force, throwing her arms around his neck, and saying, "Oh, Ronniekins, I missed you so much!" through her gaiety.  
  
Harry and Ron, both hugging their new crushes, gave each other looks over the girls' heads that expressed just how much they were enjoying the situation. As the four of them laughed together, Harry again felt that his heart would burst with happiness. 


	6. Malfoy's First Encounter

Malfoy's First Encounter  
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Lavender moseyed down Diagon Alley laughing blithely and talking about their hopes for the new school year. Meanwhile, Lavender was clutching Ron's arm quite flirtatiously and Harry's arm kept brushing Hermione's, making him rather self-conscious and tense, but Hermione didn't seem to notice.  
  
"I hope we get a little less homework this year," she was saying. "I was having a little trouble keeping up last year."  
  
"You!?" Ron exclaimed. "If YOU were having trouble, imagine how the rest of us felt!" Lavender giggled at this, though Harry couldn't find anything funny about it, and Ron beamed at her.  
  
"Well, well, well," a particularly nasty voice drawled somewhere behind them. Malfoy Harry thought bemoaningly. "It looks like you've managed to find a girlfriend, Weasley," Draco snarled as he approached them.  
  
"Too bad you couldn't 'ave done better than that." He sneered pointedly at Lavender. "At least she's not horrible-looking like yours, Potter. Honestly, I would've thought that anyone as famous as you could get a reasonable girl at least. But Granger? Tsk, tsk."  
  
Harry fumed. Suddenly he noticed the girl grasping Malfoy's arm. Rhian (pronounced like 'Ryan') O'Sassen was an Irish Slytherin girl with long brown hair and bangs that hung over her eyes.  
  
"At least they can see through their hair to make out who they're walking with. Rhian must've just gotten a little mixed up looking through that mess of hers and not realized who you were. Even a girl with as little intelligence as her wouldn't want to be caught dead around you."  
  
Rhian opened her mouth and, looking a bit like a fish, bawled, "Leave my hair out of this!" And then stomped away, dragging Malfoy with her. Although he looked a bit embarrassed, he still managed to yell, "Yeah!" as he tripped over a bin of dried fish scales. (See AN at bottom)  
  
The four Gryffindors sniggered for a few minutes before continuing on their walk, now lightened by a triumph over an old enemy or two.  
  
Stepping into Flourish & Blotts, the four of them bumped into housemates Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnagin, who were also delighted when told (in great detail) about the encounter with Malfoy. They also ran into Neville Longbottom buying a cauldron with his grandmother and talked to him until his grandmother dragged him off mumbling something about being late for her Exploding Snap bridge game with the neighbors.  
  
"See you at school!" Neville called and waved.  
  
Soon after that, Lavender was found by her best friends, Parvati and Padma Patil, and pulled away to look at the latest rage for teen witches, some new magical lip-gloss and eye- shadow that changed colors every ten minutes or so.  
  
Ron looked a little down after Lavender left, so Fred and George showed up at just the perfect time.  
  
"Ron!" Fred said a little too loud. "Being the fabulous big brothers that we are, we've decided to buy you some new dress robes!" Fred winked at Harry as he and George led a much-happier Ron off to Madame Malkin's Robe Shop, leaving Harry alone with Hermione.  
  
Being alone with Hermione didn't help Harry's nervousness at all. He was quite sure that his heart was beating just a tad faster than it was supposed to, and he didn't think it was normal that his hands were trembling.  
  
"So, Hermione. um, how was your summer?"  
  
"Pretty good! What about you? Are you all settled in with Sirius?"  
  
"Yeah. Did you ever go visit Krum?" Harry voiced this question and waited in agony for the answer.  
  
"No. We wrote each other a couple of times but never talked about me going to visit. I think he's sort of lost interest in me. But that's ok, as long as we can be friends. I didn't ever like him like that."  
  
Harry's apprehension calmed down and he carried on a normal conversation with Hermione for about fifteen minutes until Ron returned with a big smile and a box to match.  
  
"I didn't think they'd ever do anything that nice for me!" Ron exclaimed after Fred and George said good-bye and rejoined Lee at the joke shop. "These robes are awesome, a lot better than those frilly ones I had to wear last year!"  
  
Just then the clock on top of Gringotts chimed five times, telling the kids that it was time to meet the rest of their group for dinner. All through it Harry sat nervously across the table from Hermione and kept hoping that he didn't have food all over his face.  
  
After everyone had gone to their own separate rooms, Hermione came to Harry and Ron's room to say goodnight. Since Ron answered the door, she hugged him first. Then she walked across the room in Harry's direction, but stopped halfway. She looked straight into Harry's eyes even though she made it sound that she was speaking to both of them.  
  
"I'm so glad I get to spend the rest of the summer with you guys. I really missed you!"  
  
"We missed you too, 'Mione," Ron said, but all Harry could manage was a panicky nod and a small squeak in agreement. Hermione closed the distance between her and Harry and gave him a tight hug as well.  
  
"Sweet dreams," she whispered before breaking free and heading out the door with one last goodnight to the both of them. Harry still hadn't managed to say a word.  
  
Later settling into bed, Harry made a vow to overcome his uneasiness around Hermione.  
AN: The character Rhian O'Sassen is modeled the real Rhian Sasseen, who has the tendency to yell things such as, "Leave Malfoy out of this!" or, "He's only misunderstood!" when her friends tease her about her crazed Malfoy obsession. 


	7. The Food Fight

The Food Fight  
  
The next morning when Harry woke up he didn't remember at first why he had butterflies in his stomach. Then he remembered that he was going to Hermione's house today, that he was going to spend the whole rest of the summer with her, that from now until the end of the school year he got to see her every day. Harry was very excited.  
  
He was so excited, in fact that he did a happy bouncy dance, which was a very un-Harry-like thing to do, seeing that he usually kept his emotions under control. This time however, he decided to let himself have his fun little moment since Ron was still asleep. Or so he thought.  
  
Just as he was in the middle of doing a hokey-pokey sort of spin, he heard snickering behind him. Blushing furiously red, he turned around to face Ron, who looked as though he was about to explode from laughter and had tears running down his cheeks.  
  
Between gasps of air, Ron managed to say, "What. in the worl. world. was. th-that?" Harry sighed, joyful happy-dance moment ruined. He quickly decided that now was NOT the right time to tell Ron about his new crush.  
  
Harry then remembered that he would be expected down at breakfast in about thirty minutes and that Hermione would be there and that his hair probably looked really bad and that he was still wearing his pajamas and that. He ran to take a fast shower.  
  
When he got out, Ron was busy slapping hair gel onto his head. Harry stole it from him and squeezed some onto his head. He hurriedly began smoothing his hair down with it while searching through his drawers to find something to wear.  
  
Ron was staring at him again. "Man, Harry, what's up with you lately? Ever since we ran into Hermione and Lav yesterday, you've been. hey, waitaminit. Harry, you don't.you can't. Hermione?"  
  
Harry nodded meekly. He had hoped that Ron wouldn't be mad about this, or make a big deal, but it looked like Ron would.  
  
Suddenly Ron grinned. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew you two were going to get together eventually!" Now Ron was the one doing the happy dance.  
  
"I'm gonna tell her! I'm gonna tell her you like her! Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Ron laughed wildly and then bolted to the door. Harry lunged after him but missed, skidding out the door of their room before catching himself and then promptly running straight into Hermione at the top of the stairs. She fell back onto the landing while Harry thudded down half the steps before stopping painfully midway down the stairs.  
  
Hermione suddenly appeared above him. "Harry? Are you alright?"  
  
He looked up at her concerned face. "Yeah," he said as she helped him up. "Sorry 'bout that. Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. Why were you chasing Ron?" They walked down the remainder of the stairs together and made their way across the crowded pub to the table where everyone else was already seated.  
  
"Oh, he was going to tell. someone something I didn't really want him to. But he's not going to tell, now is he?" Harry raised his eyebrows at Ron across the table and glared.  
  
"Alright, alright, fine," Ron grumbled. "I won't tell."  
  
Now Hermione looked curious. "What is it? You can tell me, I promise I won't tell."  
  
Harry fidgeted. "Well, I can't really tell you because, um. well, because you're the person I didn't want Ron to tell in the first place. Um, yeah."  
  
Hermione gave him a strange look. "Okay."  
  
Harry smiled at her. "I'll tell you later, I promise."  
  
"She smiled back. "How much later?"  
  
"I dunno, you'll just have to wait and find out, won't you?"  
  
Hermione squealed. "Harry Potter!" she threw a scrambled egg at him.  
  
"Cool!" Fred yelled. "Food fight!"  
  
After that, Harry was too busy flinging oatmeal and dodging flying toast to talk to Hermione at all. As the fight subsided a few minutes later when Mrs. Weasley intervened, Harry realized that he had egg in his hair, jam on his shirt, and a particularly large gob of pudding drying on his cheek.  
  
So much for looking good in front of Hermione he thought. Just then, he felt a wet smack on the back of his neck. When he reached back to see what it was, he made contact with skin. He spun around and saw Hermione behind him, giggling and holding a plate of buttered biscuits.  
  
He chased her up the stairs and down the hall until he finally caught up with her and tackled her. Sitting up, he noticed that she too was covered in the remains of their breakfast fun. Even so, she looked quite pretty.  
  
"Harry?" she waved her hand in front of his face. "Are you awake? What are you staring at?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, nothing, just. just. just a really pretty girl, that's all." he stammered. She beamed and leaned up like she was going to kiss him. She put her arm around his neck and. and. and dropped a crumbling biscuit down his shirt. He yelled and pulled his shirt out so the biscuit fell out onto the floor. And then he grabbed Hermione and kissed her, right there in the hall of the Leaky Cauldron. 


	8. Confessions

Confessions  
  
Harry was surprised when Hermione didn't pull out of his kiss. He had expected her to step away and get mad at him or something. But instead, she kissed him back, and when they stopped she looked at him with a dazed and somewhat confused look on her face.  
  
"Harry.?" she whispered. "Why. how. what just happened?"  
  
He blushed and looked away. "I kinda just blew the secret that I didn't want Ron to tell you." Hermione looked puzzled. "In other words," Harry continued, "I like you. A lot. I have since the end of last year and.. well. sorry."  
  
Hermione looked even more perplexed, though now astonishment and joy had joined the mix of emotions on her face. "What are you sorry about?"  
  
Harry stared at his feet. "For. for ruining our friendship, for liking you when I'm not supposed to, for kissing you, for liking you when I know you want to be just friends."  
  
Now the perplexed and astonished looks left Hermione's face, leaving only a look of pure elation. "But Harry," she whispered. "You haven't ruined anything. No one ever said you weren't allowed to like me. In case you haven't noticed, you weren't the only one involved in that kiss. And for your information, I would like nothing less than to remain just friends."  
  
Harry stared at her in amazement. "You mean. crap, I'm not good at this sort of thing. er. will you be my. girlfriend?" He hazarded a look up at her face.  
  
She leaned forward and lightly kissed him again. "Is that a good enough answer for you?"  
  
He beamed somewhat shyly. "No. no, I don't reckon I heard that clearly enough. I'm afraid you'll have to say it again."  
  
Just as they were in the middle of clarifying Hermione's answer, they heard voices approaching but were too slow to pull all the way back before Ron, accompanied by Lavender, entered their supposedly private hall.  
  
"Whoa, Harry," Ron said in disbelief. "That was bloody fast."  
  
Harry caught sight of a lipstick smear on Ron's cheek that seemed to be in the middle of a color transformation. Remembering what Lavender had gone shopping for the previous day, he grinned and said, "Look who's talking."  
  
Ron's ears turned the deepest shade of red Harry had ever seen and he began sputtering. "Well, you see, well, we, er. well, you know, I. well. er. yes." He looked down at Lavender as though pleading for help.  
  
Harry and Hermione laughed. "It's ok, Ron," Hermione giggled. "We get the general idea. We can continue this conversation a little later, as it seems you were in the middle of something important."  
  
"Er. yeah," Ron whispered, still embarrassed. "That would be. er. bye." He and Lavender walked away as though they couldn't be going quick enough. Harry and Hermione laughed again but then stopped when they caught each other's eye.  
  
"So I guess this means that. we're going out," Hermione breathed.  
  
"Yeah," Harry whispered. "I guess it does."  
  
They smiled sweetly at each other for a few minutes before Hermione sighed happily and then said, "Well. I guess we should be getting back. They might be worrying that we've killed each other with crumpets."  
  
Harry remembered what they had been doing before this miracle happened and nodded. Then he took Hermione's hand and led her down the stairs in full view of everyone in the pub. 


	9. Reactions

Reactions  
  
Fred and George were the first to notice that Harry and Hermione were holding hands as they came down the stairs. Once the twins had shouted this piece of information to the whole room, there was quite a bit of commotion as the Weasleys and Hermione's parents all crowded around them, asking questions. Once the two of them had explained as much (or as little) as they thought necessary, they found Ron and Lavender and headed for the ice cream parlor with instructions to be back for lunch. After lunch Harry, Ron, and Hermione would be leaving for Hermione's house. Ron seemed a bit depressed that he would be spending the rest of the summer away from his new girlfriend, but Harry and Hermione were ecstatic that they had a month together before school started.  
  
The morning was spent with the four of them wondering around, talking and laughing, until noon, when Harry and Hermione left Ron and Lavender alone to say good-bye. Strolling back to the Leaky Cauldron hand-in-hand with Hermione, it hit Harry that his life was nearly perfect now- he was living with one of his favorite people, right down a hill from his best friend, and here he was holding hands with the girl he loved. He had just one problem left- Lord Voldemort was alive and well. He tried to push the thought from his mind and continue with his happy day.  
  
But Hermione looked up at his face and saw that something was wrong. She stopped walking and faced him. "What's the matter, Harry?" she questioned, and put her hand on his cheek gently.  
  
Harry looked down and sighed. "I'm just worried. about. Voldemort."  
  
She made him look at her and cupped his face in her hands. "Harry, you aren't responsible for him. You shouldn't have to spend your life worrying what he's going to do next."  
  
He smiled weakly. "You're right, Mione. But still." for a moment a wistful glance rested on his face, but then he smiled brightly at Hermione. "We're late for lunch." And taking her hand again, he continued to walk towards the Leaky Cauldron. He could see that Hermione was worried about him, and he didn't want her to be.  
  
Harry and Hermione joined the group for lunch and then headed upstairs to pack their things. Back in the room he shared with Ron, Harry pulled out his suitcase and began throwing things in. Ron came in and threw himself onto the bed, then sat up and stared at Harry. "So." he said, "What happened with you and Hermione?"  
  
"What happened with you and Lavender?" Harry calmly replied, folding a shirt and putting it in his case. He wasn't quite ready to give Ron all the details of the morning's events.  
  
Ron made a face. "I asked you first!" But he apparently wanted to update Harry anyway, so he told him all about how Lavender had admitted that she thought he was cute, so he had asked her out and then. Harry stopped listening after awhile and drifted into a dream of Hermione. Ron broke through by waving his hand in front of Harry's face and saying, "Harry? Are you awake? Come back, mate," and proceeded to milk all of the details of the morning out of Harry.  
  
Just then there was a knock at their door and Hermione came in. "As soon as you guys are ready, we can pack the car and go," she told them.  
  
Ron looked at her blankly. "We aren't taking Floo powder?"  
  
Hermione gave him a disgusted look. "Really, Ron. Think about that." Then she smiled sweetly at Harry, who was on the floor zipping up his suitcase, and left the room.  
  
"What does she mean, 'Really, Ron?'" Ron pondered. "Why aren't we taking Floo powder?"  
  
Harry stood up, grabbed his suitcase and imitated Hermione's words. "Really, Ron. Think about that." and then left.  
  
Ron, a bit confused, picked up his suitcase and followed Harry, still muttering to himself. "Why aren't we taking Floo powder?" he was saying when he accidentally ran into his sister.  
  
"Ouch!" Ginny said as she rubbed her elbow. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Why aren't we taking Floo powder to Hermione's house?" Ron asked her.  
  
Ginny gave him a look that closely matched Hermione's. "Really, Ron. Think about that."  
  
He groaned. "Will everyone stop saying that? All I want to know is why we aren't taking Floo powder!"  
  
Ginny stared at him. "Hm." she pretended to be thinking hard. "I know! Maybe it's because 'Mione's parents are muggles so their house isn't set up for Floo powder! Honestly Ron." She stalked away, still rubbing her elbow.  
  
"Ooh!" Ron said, looking less confused. "Why didn't I think of that?" Harry came up to him just then.  
  
"C'mon, Ron, time to go," Harry said. So Ron followed Harry out to the car, threw his suitcase into the trunk, and got in. As the car pulled out, Harry waved to Sirius and then settled into his seat and took Hermione's hand. He was ready for the rest of the summer. 


End file.
